Homemade Ketchup

As many reviewers have written, and done, this recipe needs tweaking. It's a basic formula for ketchup; take it and make it your own. I added allspice, clove, a pinch of cinnamon, Worcestershire, garlic, dry mustard powder, hot sauce (Crystal, what I had and like) and ancho chili powder, plus a bit of liquid smoke. It was good ketchup, and less sugar than commercial brands.

• bushwickgirl

• New Haven CT

• 1/13/2016

I agree with the others that say I wish I read the reviews. The sauce is a bit sweet. I ended up adding the whole can of tomato paste to balance out the sweetness. I probably added another 1/4 cup of vinegar as well. I will make this again, but start off with 1/2 of the sugar recommended.

• adkatz3141

• 1/26/2014

I wish I would have read the reviews before making this recipe, which I followed exactly. It's much too sweet, unfortunately. If I were try to try making it again, I would suggest following the other user's approaches and significantly reducing the sugar.

• Anonymous

• Washington, DC

• 6/19/2013

This recipe is way off. I cut the sugar back to 1/3 cup, and it's still too sweet. A 1/4 cup is more than enough. I used 1/3 cup of vinagar, that seems to be about right. I realize that recipes are meant to be tweaked, and that people have different tastes, but this recipe would be disgusting to most people if followed to the t.

• Bryan_A

• Lawrence, KS

• 3/18/2012

RE: canning and botulism. Tomatoes vary in acidity, and your garden produce may not be safe to can, all by itself, in a typical hot bath canner.The temperature of boiling water will NOT destroy the botulinus organism. (There was an outbreak of botulism in Russia within the last several years that was traced to home-canned tomatoes). That being said, the Ball Blue book can probably give you an idea of the ratio of vinagar to tomato necessary for producing a safe product. Offhand this recipe looks like it would easily qualify. Alternatively you can use a pressure canner, if you`ve got one.

• alecto07

• 10/19/2011

After reading other reviews, I cut the cider vinegar down to 1/4 cup and the sugar to 1/3 a cup. I also added a tsp of minced garlic and some chipotle tobasco. It doesn't taste like Heinz if that's what you're expecting, but it is definitely delicious and I will definitely be making it often.

• maryyy

• atlanta, ga

• 3/31/2011

I too cut down on the sugar and cider vinegar to 1/3 c brown sugar, and 1/4 c cider vinegar. I also added a couple cloves of garlic and added 1/4tsp of hot spanish paprika. it tastes like, ketchup, but not. it's delicious, definitely, and reminds me of the buglarian sauce lutenitsa.

• maryyy

• 3/23/2011

I was in a hurry so didn't read all the awful reviews. Doctored it up a fair bit - was only making it because I was out of ketchup and too lazy to run to the store. Here's how I doctored it: - 3 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes (instead of 1 28oz can whole) - balsamic vinegar instead of cider - large red onion instead of medium yellow - added 4 cloves of minced garlic - added 3 large roasted hatch chillies (skins removed) It's definitely not 'normal' ketchup, but it was easy and tasted great. I'll probably make this on a regular basis.

• abc3702

• Dallas

• 9/9/2010

Yeah, I agree completely with the other reviewers who said this was awful. It was *nothing* like ketchup - no spiciness or anything - and was overly sweet. It tasted like extremely sweet and tangy tomatoes. Blech. Tossed out the entire batch. I even doctored it up per the suggestions - I added smoked paprika and some black pepper and garlic powder. It was still just horrible.

• Issaquahcrafter

• Issaquah, WA

• 8/7/2010

我必使这一次又一次。没有更多的商店老板ught ketchup for me! It's really easy to make and the taste is out of this world. I will say I did reduce the amount of sugar since my family doesn't like stuff too sweet. This will be a staple, believe me!

• Anonymous

• Vancouver,WA

• 5/30/2010

Commercial canned tomatoes and tomato paste can vary widely in sweetness and acidity. Bear in mind when making this ketchup - go easy on the sugar and vinegar. You can always add more if needed, but you can't take it out once it's mixed in!

• Anonymous

• washington state

• 5/15/2010

Have made this but wanted to respond to the post below WRT botulism. C. botulinum can only grow in low acid environments. Both tomatoes and vinegar are quite acidic and this recipe is perfectly safe for home canning. Additionally, the toxin is not heat stable so if you really wanted to be insane about it you could heat up the ketchup and then refrigerated in an aerobic environment.

• Anonymous

• San Diego CA

• 4/17/2010

This was great and easy to make. I didn't change any of the ingredients, but did let it cook about 15 minutes longer that the recipe said. Everyone here likes it. Can't wait to serve french fries.

• Mehart01

• CT

• 1/2/2010

I doubled the recipe and added some garlic and other spices, and I cut down the sugar and the vinegar. I used my fresh tomatoes too. I found that if I added more salt, the sweet and vinegary taste dissappeared. I thought it was delicious and am out so am making more now. I am going to try the recipe exactly the way it is written but add enough salt to take away the sweetness and vinegary taste. I will let you know how it turned out.

• grandmaruth

• Northfield, mn

• 9/19/2009

I can't even give this recipe a single fork. It tasted NOTHING like ketchup!! I followed the recipe exactly and found it to be way to vinegary. I'm not even sure that was the whole problem. It just did not taste like ketchup! I would not recommend this recipe! Stick with Heinz!

• EmMarie79

• New Castle, PA

• 9/4/2009